Iroquois softball coach Julie Parker set the goal for Monday's game at 10 runs.

After the Braves reached that goal, the defense made enough plays to hang on and give Parker her 200th win as the Iroquois head coach.

Lexi Canavan drove in three runs on three hits, while Brianna Ashley had three hits and Alli Kaliszewski collected three RBIs to lead Iroquois to a thrilling 10-7 win over South Side Beaver in a PIAA Class A first-round game in front of 200 fans at Penn State Behrend.

"They have some good sticks all through their lineup," Parker said about the Rams. "Honestly, I thought we had to put up 10 runs, and South Side Beaver still came back on us. We just had to get outs and win the game."

Iroquois (14-6) moves on to play Claysburg-Kimmel on Thursday in the Class A Elite Eight at a site and time to be determined.

The Braves jumped to a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning as Rachel Prather had an RBI double and Ashley brought in two runs with a double. Ashley went to third on an error and scored on a Canavan sacrifice fly.

"It was very important to us to keep scoring runs," Ashley said. "We have the motto to keep on them all the time and don't ever let up."

Prather drove in another run in the fourth inning on a single, as Iroquois led 6-1 going into the fifth. After two quick flyouts and a walk and two singles by the Rams (16-5) cut the lead to 6-3, the game was delayed 62 minutes because of rain.

The delay ended and the tarp was pulled before Connor McGaffic launched a mammoth two-run homer to cut the deficit to 6-5.

"During the rain delay, we talked about pitching around her but she is an outstanding hitter and great sportsman," Parker said about McGaffic, who had three hits and was a triple short of the cycle.

Iroquois tacked on four runs in the sixth inning, taking advantage of several Rams errors. Kaliszewski delivered the big blow with a two-out, three-run double to give Iroquois a 9-5 lead. She later scored on a Canavan single.

"Our lineup is great from top to bottom," Kaliszewski said. "We knew we had to get some runs and get a bigger cushion late in the game. When I'm at the plate, I just think line drives and find gaps."

South Side Beaver had one final push in the seventh inning. Sarah Androlia, McGaffic and McKenna Smith started the inning with three straight singles before Toni Yacoviello walked. Alexis Dhayer then singled to load the bases and bring the Rams within three runs at 10-7, with still no one out. Prather forced two infield popouts before getting Capria Sollinger-Kinsley to ground out to second and end the game.

The Braves now set their sights on the Class A quarterfinals.

"It's exciting and we've been working so hard for this," Kaliszewski said. "I think we deserve it."

TOM REISENWEBER can be reached at 870-1707 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNreisenweber. Read the Varsity blog for video interviews at GoErie.com/blogs/varsity.